My eye reopened to see a familiar sight. I guess the Force thought this was the perfect time to show me a vision, and judging by the fact that I was wearing the exact same night gown that I was the first time I met older Luke on Temple Island. This place and time- whenever it was- was not Temple Island. It was nighttime and the smell of smoke was heavy in the air. Yes, I knew where this was…. It ironically was where I'd just left from.

Turning around, I was shocked to see the school Luke was constructing in my time bursting in flames. It was complete at this point in the future but being completely obliterated in an all-consuming fire. I stood there speechless, my jaw hanging in the air. I never dreamed that it would come to this; that Luke's dream would fall to such pieces. Where were Mando and I in this timeline? I left Luke's forest recently in my reality, but I know that I stayed with him in the first timeline I met him in… Where was I, and where was Luke?

"Saoirse," I'd never heard his voice before, but the unexpected sound of it made me jump. I flinched and immediately spun to see yet another familiar Force ghost standing there, not too far from me. Anakin's eyes wasted no time in cementing onto mine; his face was solemn and woeful. Meanwhile I gawked back at him with an astonished expression. He was young, with his long hair reaching down to his neck. His long black cloak reminded me of mine. "Y-You….." Were all my lips could manage to get out. Keeping our stares locked, he came closer to me so that he might gaze upon the fire as well.

"Pity. Luke tried so hard for so long to bring the Jedi order back," his voice was a lot softer than I'd expected it to be; I always imagined Anakin having this really deep, scary voice. After eying him another minute, I looked back at the horrible scene. "What happened here?" Anakin didn't answer right away; instead, I noticed his shoulders lower a little. His head also lowered slightly….. "I said once if I could only keep my son from you….." My eyes widened again in surprise at this. Yes… Yes, I remember him telling me that; the first time we ever met. It didn't occur to me that the Force ghost at the time was Anakin- Luke's father. That was when I also began to slowly put the pieces together. I meekly glanced back at the fire; my lips parting a sliver.

"I see… That fire….. It was Kylo Ren's doing. He tried to kill me, or succeeded killing me here, didn't he? And Luke couldn't save me….." Luke didn't say anything right away; he simply looked me straight in the eye again. "Kylo Ren didn't start the fire.

The Mandalorian did."

I blinked at Anakin totally blindsided. What?! Why….. Why would Mando, my own husband, ever do such a thing? It was unbelievable! I wouldn't have believed it if anyone had told me, but he spoke with such sincerity. Observing my reaction, Anakin's gaze drifted back out, his hands clasped behind his back. "Did you know I was also married once myself? I fell in love with the most beautiful woman….. the mother of my children," sensing he wanted to say more, I remained quiet as Anakin looked my way again. His eyes lowered onto mine tenderly. "We don't always act rationally…. when something happens to our wives."

My mouth sputtered, a tear trickled down the side of my cheek. "Mando, he….. He started the fire…. because I died? Because Kylo Ren murdered me?" Again, Anakin let a much-needed pause slip into the conversation. "He found your body while it was still warm. After, he started the fire and removed his beskar armour. He died with you in his arms." "He was burned alive," more tears rolling down my face; my eyes were so wet I could barely see now. Anakin's face softened once more at this. "You were cremated together, as one."

Unable to control myself, my lips kept trembling. My whole body was shaking at this point, but my facial expressions were much calmer, like I had just experienced a profound and terrifying revelation. "It all makes sense now…. Why I always appear in a white nightgown in the future…. Kylo Ren killed me in my bedroom at night; I was wearing this when I died." Anakin didn't reply, but simply stared at me. I continued warily. "But I don't… I don't understand. Why didn't Mando go after Kylo Ren? Why did he choose to die there with me? I wouldn't want him to do that….. I don't want him to do that," I repeated with more finality. Anakin's gaze narrowed knowingly again. "Isn't it obvious? The Mandalorian faced a choice when he found you dead. He could have hunted Kylo Ren down, or he could have stayed with you…" Anakin paused here to take a step closer toward me. "I know this is not what you would have picked for him, but you must trust that the Mandalorian did what he thought was best in that moment. He did not want to follow your murderer….. He took one look at your lifeless corpse, already departed from this galaxy, and he knew.

He didn't follow Kylo Ren; he chose to follow you instead."

Ogling Anakin for a long moment, my head slowly turned back to the burning building- the building where me and my husband were supposedly being cremated in right now. My eyes lowered a tad while staring at it. "Is this what will happen, or what may happen? Is there any way to change the future?" "As Master Obi Wan said, there is no stopping the dark side. Kylo Ren's red lightsaber will penetrate you eventually," he admitted and I drew a deep breath in, shutting my eyes. Seeing my reaction, he went on. "But as our master also told you, this time between now and then belongs to you- you and the Mandalorian. You're allowed to treasure it." "Anakin…." Lips quivering again, I gazed at the dead Jedi, who smiled at me. It was the first time I'd ever seen any positive expressions from him. I gave an unconscious inhale as he came ever nearer, standing right beside me now. His slender lifted up to rest gently on my shoulder. I looked from it to him confused, but he continued to grin at me ever so reassuringly. "Do not fear the future, Saoirse. You and the Mandalorian will have a great many years together still. You are one, and one you shall remain- in life and in death." "Anakin," one last tear scrolled down my cheek as I beheld him. Our eyes met for a final time, with him giving me a look I'd never seen before. "You love your husband.

That's enough, isn't it?"

Gradually my eyes started to flutter open as my consciousness returned to my actual body. I found myself in a laying down position, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. I was laying on something soft, though I didn't know which bed I was on. My head was hazy but soon became fully aware of my surroundings. Groaning softly, I tried to lift my head up off the pillow, with little success.

"Easy, easy," that voice! My eyes moved over to where Mando was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was staring back down at me worriedly, carefully pushing me to lay back down by the shoulder. I didn't say anything for a second, ogling him instead. Mando, my husband….. My husband. I'm back; we're back together. I think Mando was surprised when the first thing I did was reach up my hand to press against the side of his helmet where his cheek would be. This unconscious, elated smile blossomed across my lips as my fingers caressed the metal.

"Are you alright?" He finally broke the silence, keeping one hand protectively on me. My grin only intensified, my eyes lowered. "Yes," I'm alright, now that I'm back here with you. Mando breathed this heavy sigh of relief, giving my skin a tender rub. "Good." A very quiet minute slipped by as all my memories of what happened on Tatooine also returned. My hand lowered to rest overtop of my husband's. That's when I remembered… My eyes locked onto Mando's somewhat anxiously now. "Boba Fett….?" I didn't need to finish my sentence; Mando already knew what my question was. His head nodded. "He's fine. The war is over." A wave of relief hit me, making me visibly relax. I sighed, giving my husband's hand a squeeze. "Good…."

Mando's voice went back into protector-mode as he leaned forward a little. "Get some sleep. I'll come check on you again soon." Then he tried to get up but I held onto his hand. Our eyes met again with my face more pleading. "Will you stay with me? Lay with me…. until I fall asleep," my tone just then….. I don't think anyone had talked to Mando that way before in his life. He must have felt something in that moment because he laid down on the bed beside me. His arms wrapped around me, cuddling in close. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but in that moment, it was heaven for me. I pressed up against his chest armour and closed my eyes. After taking in a long inhale, I let out this sweet, euphoric sigh. My lips slowly parted… "I love you, Mando."

That was the first time either of us had said "I love you", despite being married for so long. Yes, I knew I'd loved him for a long time now, and I was sure that he loved me. But we'd never outright expressed this to each other in words. Or rather, those three little words. I knew Mando was not expecting me to say this, going off how tight his arms drew around me. Right afterwards though he brought his head nearer to mine. His forehead pressed into my forehead, bringing him so close that I could hear him breathe. When he spoke next, his voice was low and more sincere than you can imagine. "Yeah, me too," he practically admitted in a whisper. There, in my beloved's arms and in a state of absolute bliss, I sighed again, happier than I'd ever been. I didn't know it was possible to be this happy before…

Completely at ease and feeling safer than ever, I effortlessly drifted back to sleep.

The end.